Traffic Signal Sensors

[Dixon Webb]

Good morning group. I ride in the big city but off of the freeways and turnpikes. Traffic signal sensors are usually buried in the asphalt or concrete at intersections. I think (?) they are triggered by a change of capacitance when a mass of something comes between two electrical poles, or by the weight of a vehicle crossing some other kind of switch. Regardless my little gz250 thumper and I (200 lbs. on board) usually can not trigger the damn things. It can be annoying to the max when no other traffic is in sight.

Has anybody figured out how to beat this problem? If it is a capacitance activated device has anyone devised an electronic pulse or magnetic field contraption to fool it?

The first guy who suggests I carry a long stick to poke the crossing sensor switch on the traffic light pole will be doomed to a permanent red light.

Thanks.

[Dupo]

Just carry a long stick to poke the sensor

Traffic Signals are most commonly controlled by electromagnets (also referred to as Inductive Loops), which are buried just under the black lines you see cut into the surface of the road at each lane of controlled intersections - they usually appear as large, black-outlined rectangles in the road.

Pretty much it detects the iron in vehicles. Problem is that motorcycles just arent big enough to trip them.

Solution:

http://www.signalsorcerer.com/
http://www.bikerhiway.com/index.php?mai ... edium=frgl
http://www.greenlightstuff.com/
http://www.light-changer.com/

[BadMojo]

This is a good question!! Now mine, has anyone here used any of these? Which one do you recommend?

[Dupo]

Cant say that i've used one, but the last two links i have 'heard' mentioned in other places.

I have also seen that you can use a harddrive lol. Wonder if i can find the 'how to' again on that.

[BadMojo]

That would be good, I have a couple of those puppies laying around here somewhere. :lol:

[Dupo]

If i remember correctly, all you use is the HD case and fill it with a high powered magnet. Paint it black and stick it under your bike somewhere facing the asphalt. Something to that effect i think.

[Gadzooks Mike]

I try to park directly over where the lines cross each other. Usually, that works fine. When it doesn't, just pull ahead a bit and let the car behind creep up and trip it. I'm not sold on those magnet ideas. If the motor of the bike doesn't trip it, I'm not sure a little magnet like that would work any better. Hey, has anyone tried passing steel toed boots over the trip lines?

[Dupo]

Originally Posted by Gadzooks Mike

I try to park directly over where the lines cross each other. Usually, that works fine. When it doesn't, just pull ahead a bit and let the car behind creep up and trip it. I'm not sold on those magnet ideas. If the motor of the bike doesn't trip it, I'm not sure a little magnet like that would work any better. Hey, has anyone tried passing steel toed boots over the trip lines?

Yes, i do that too. Best way to trip them. Of course, it wont work at 11pm on a back road with a light that only turns green when a car trips it. I have one here thats like that at night. I sat there 15 minutes and no green. Finally i said screw it and went. What sucks is its a T and you cant see anything coming left or right untill you are pretty much in the 1st lane of cross traffic (2 hills on either side) and the stop line sits about 50 feet back because of this. Very dangerous spot to pull up to run a red light that wont trip.

Doubt steel toe boots would work. The idea behind the trip is registering the mass of iron that moves over it. A bike just doesnt have enough mass to register the trip.

[Dupo]

This should explain a little more how it works.. Take note that they say it makes a difference WHERE you mount it and WHERE to ride the bike along the strips (could be some non-manual readers could just be riding in the center of the road and expecting it to work). I also seen to get yourself an electromagnetic magnet and wiring it to your brake light.

Motorcyclists often get stuck at red lights that never end, because the sensors that cause the light to change to green aren't sensitive enough to know that small vehicles are present. These sensors work by generating an electromagnetic field, and sending changes in that field when a large mass of metal passes through it. The problem with motorcycles is that there often just isn't enough metal to do the trick.

The Green Light Trigger "fools" the system by creating disturbances in the sensor's electromagnetic field. Basically, the trigger is a powerful magnet that you fasten to the bottom of your bike (for instance, to the center stand crosspiece). When you move across the sensor, the magnet in the Green Light Trigger causes enough of a disturbance in the field to allow the light to change as though you were a car.

Now, installing a magnet on your bike doesn't automatically make you look like a Buick to these sensors. The only way we could do that is to weld a few hundred pounds of steel to your bike, and that might cause handling issues (not to mention styling problems). The technique to use with the Trigger is to locate the sensor (you can usually see saw cuts where the coils were buried in the pavement), and MOVE the magnet across the coils. Stopping dead on top of them will do very little - it's the moving magnet that does the trick. In addition, there are installation tips (included in the package) that show you how to install the magnet for maximum benefit.

The Green Light Trigger is available in two versions - the Original, with an estimated effectiveness of 80% or more of triggering balky stoplights, and the HP (High Performance) version, with a 25% stronger magnet estimated to trigger 95% of stoplights.

http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/pr ... tem=GLTRIG

DELETED